Tag: longhorn news

In a very fluid situation as is the current climate regarding life, financials and yes sports it has been unprecedented territory. There isn’t much clarity as far as when we can return to some sense of normal life with the concerns surrounding COVID-19. Even the Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby is voicing his concern in his latest conference call.

“Virtually every program is highly reliant on football revenue,” he told ESPN. “We’re making lots of contingency plans, but if you don’t get the anticipated number of games in, you lose the donations, you lose the sponsorships, you lose the gate receipts and you lose the TV. It’s potentially very impactful.”

Bowlsby went on to comment more about the impact on the athletes and sports.

“We don’t know when somebody is going to tell us it’s going to be OK to go back to close contact,” he said. “I suspect that medical experts and scientists are going to be slow to give the green light on that. The magic start date is probably a mirage.

“It may be different in some high-density populations and areas than it is in more remote areas,” he said. “It could be certain parts of the country and not other parts of the country. I don’t think there’s just going to be a day when we turn it all on again. There has to be a reacclimation period because athletes aren’t training at the same level they had been accustomed to.”

Not to sound insensitive to the situation facing every American and everywhere around the globe, this does have a huge financial impact for everyone and especially universities. Bowlsby is right that they need to make contingency plans to try and withstand these times of zero movement. It isn’t just the sports that are having this hit, but the university themselves.

The conference has drastically reduced salaries, schools are closing their campuses, refunding room and board and going to online classes. It is fair to have concerns over the long-term impact during the pandemic and Bowlsby isn’t alone with his thoughts.